In many fields, it is necessary to heat materials to determine certain characteristics (e.g., melting point, boiling point, viscosity as a function of temperature, etc.) or even to create new materials. It is often desirable to perform such analyses (at least initially) on a small scale, thereby limiting the amount of material and effort involved in the analysis.
Accordingly, industry has developed “thermo-cups”, also known as “heat cups”, which hold a small sample of material (e.g., between 4 to 16 fluid ounces) and heat it to a adjustable temperature. Durability is considered extremely important for such devices. Having a heating element in close proximity to the controls presents certain obstacles to long-term reliability, and accordingly the available thermo cups universally employ a mechanical control to set the thermostat for the heating element. Normally, a user turns a knob to a printed number on the face of the device to set the desired temperature and relies on a mechanical sensor to energize and disconnect the heating element when appropriate.
Mechanical controls are sufficient for the introduction of heat, but in many circumstances it is necessary for the temperature and heating rate to be tightly controlled. A user may not be free to adequately monitor the temperature and adjust the heat level, and the situation is aggravated when multiple such devices need to be monitored, each with their individual heating characteristics that generally differ from device to device.
It should be understood, however, that the specific embodiments given in the drawings and detailed description below do not limit the disclosure. On the contrary, they provide the foundation for one of ordinary skill to discern the alternative forms, equivalents, and other modifications that are encompassed in the scope of the appended claims.